Pit bulls seized from Muncie property

MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) - Muncie Police are calling it a major raid. Investigators said a tip led them to a suspected dog-fighting operation on the northeast side of town. Police took away 25 pit bulls from the home.

Some of the dogs were chained, investigators said. Others were locked in kennels.

Outside the mobile home where the dogs were seized, on North Blaine Street, there's a sign outside the property that read “No Trespassing.” But when police got a warrant to go inside Thursday, they made a big discovery.

"We couldn't believe - especially once we went inside and saw the number of dogs, as big as this seemed to be," said Muncie Police Department investigator Jim Johnson.

Johnson said a tip led them here.

"We had some federal authorities contacting us last week about this individual, that he imported some dogs from the Dominican Republic. We just didn't know where he was at," Johnson said.

More than 25 pit bulls were taken from the property. Of those, 21 are now recovering at Muncie Animal Control shelter.

"It's terrible to think that the existence of these dogs has been so horrible their entire lives," said Muncie Animal Control director Phil Peckinpaugh. "They were spread throughout the mobile home in just the run-of-the-mill travel crates and also wired crates."

Six dogs were inside the mobile home. Others were outside.

"There were six to seven on giant boat chains that were attached to car axles that were buried to the ground in the back yard," Peckinpaugh said.

Investigators recovered so many dogs from the property, they had to use a second room to store them.

And inside that second room are the mixed-breed puppies. The front legs on one of the dogs is so deformed officials think she may have been used for bait.

Investigators said the owner faces serious charges. Right now, he's no where to be found.

"It's a serious offense, and we're going to come after you with every charge we can," Johnson said.

Muncie investigators are hoping to have the case together so they can issue warrants for the homeowner.

In the meantime, Animal Control said none of the dogs will be available for adoption anytime soon. This weekend the pit bulls will be evaluated to see if they are healthy and able to go to a good home.